They say everything is bigger in Texas and Globe Life Park can be added to the list of examples. While the park is dwarfed by its neighbor in AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Park definitely is a giant structure in itself. It is also a hard park to judge. For everything it does great, there is seemingly another flaw to bring it down a peg.

1) Aesthetics- 17/25

Exterior- 5/5

Outside of Yankee Stadium, Globe Life has the best exterior design of any ballpark. It almost looks like a castle, as it sits on an open grass space surrounded by a lake. Each corner gate of the park has columns that rise up, just like those of a castle. There is beautiful red brick with designs of Texas achievement sketched into the brick- some depictions include cowboys, cattle, and the space program.

Interior- 7/10

Globe Life is known for borrowing from other stadiums. They had a manual scoreboard in left field like Fenway Park (now it’s LED). They have a facade that resembles Yankee Stadium. The grandstand in right is supposed to bring back memories of Tiger Stadium. On their own, these are really cool tips of the cap. When executed all together though it makes the look of the park messy. Yes, I love that it makes the park somewhat unique, but the execution isn’t quite there. One really cool thing are the office spaces in center field. I think if they had just picked their favorite quirk- the grandstand or offices or fence in left- and forgot the rest, the whole look of the park would have been better.

Backdrop- 5/10

It is rare these days to see a fully enclosed park and that is a good thing. Unfortunately, Globe Life is not one of those parks. While I like the grandstand and I like the offices in center, everything looks clunky. For example, the decks in both left and right jut in front of the offices and it makes the backdrop just look awkward. If left field or right field had been left open, I would be a bigger fan.

2) Seats & View- 11/20

Sight line- 5/10

There are some really good seats here- and some not so good ones. My favorite location was on the second level, between the bases. With these seats you feel close to the action, get great angles, and food service! However, at this park the closer you get to the foul poles, the worse angle you get. I also sat down by the foul pole on the first base side, in section 39. The way the seats were built, the rows stack up high the further you go back. So you feel close to the field despite being 20-30 rows back. However, you can’t see most of right field. Any ball hit there I couldn’t see if it was caught or not. As for the upper deck- it is really high up.

The right field outfield seats look really good for an old-time experience, but there are the support beams, overhang, and you can’t see the video board because that is located on top of the grandstand.

Proximity- 3/5

As I mentioned above, some seats will let you feel like you are right in the middle of the action. Other seats make you feel like you are a mile away. The first and second level are fine, but the third and fourth level are worse than most other parks.

Comfort- 3/5

The seats do squeeze together, but there is average leg room so it’s not too bad. The only thing that made me feel uncomfortable was the barefoot guy a couple seats down who had the ashiest feet of all-time. His feet looked dead.

3) Atmosphere- 9/15

Fan Participation- 3/5

I was expecting a lot more because I know a lot of passionate Rangers fans but I was slightly let down. Maybe this was because the Rangers have been a bad team the times I’ve gone. But despite a Rangers win in all games I’ve gone to, the loudest I’ve heard the park was for a fight in the stands.

Attendance- 3/5

Again, this is due to the record of the team over the past couple seasons, but I went to two games in 2014 that were sparsely attended and the Yankees game this season looked to only be at 60% capacity.

Fan Knowledge- 3/5

The fans that do show are very loyal and try their best, but aren’t what most consider experts of the game. Sorry Dallas, Houston had you beat in this regard for best fans in the state. It pains me to say that because Dallas is a nicer city.

4) Attractions- 8/15

Museums & Team History- 7/10

The Rangers have a team museum which will always be a plus in my book. It’s not nearly as well done as Turner or Yankee Stadium, but it has some pretty neat stuff in there, including designs for Globe Life. My favorite part was a line of plaques outline “firsts” in Globe Life history, such as first game, playoff game, All-Star game, etc. All were losses by the Rangers/AL and all were games decided by 1 run.

Outside of the museum though, I didn’t see much celebration of team history. But with no World Series titles in over 50 seasons, you can understand why.

Things to See & Do- 1/5

The concourse is large and there are a ton of places to eat and drink, but very little to see and do. I wish I could expand, but there are no cool statues, plaques, monuments, or anything in that vein. If you don’t go to the team store then just walk around and find some food.

5) Food & Drink- 9/10

Hot Dog- 3/5

The most average I have had at a game. Definitely tasted like a generic dog.

Best of the Rest- 5/5

Globe Life has the best food offerings of any park I’ve been to. They have beers of Texas, beers of the world, craft beers, and more. They have BBQ plates in addition to ballpark staples. They have giant portion foods, such as a 24 inch hot dog, 24 inch kabob, mega burgers, and mega sandwiches. And bacon.

Signature Dish- There are too many to choose from between the Boomstick (24in hot dog with chili, cheese, onions, jalapenos) to the Beltre Burger ($26 to give you a reference for how big it is). +1

6) Game Entertainment & Presentation- 2/5

It is not that good. They have something going on every inning, but it’s all very boring and unoriginal. And the mascot is one of the worst in baseball if not the worst.

7) Cleanliness- 4/5

For an old, big park, I thought Globe Life is very clean. Not brand sparkling new clean, but better than average.

8) Local Scene & Location- 1/5

There is nothing to do here. It is in a giant land area it shares with the Cowboys stadium and 6 Flags. That is it. No local shops or restaurants. You go to the game and then you leave. The area is not bad, but it is just an area with nothing else to do.

9) Access & Cost- 2/5

The accessibility is terrible. You can only get to Globe Life by car and while there are main highways that can get you to the game, there will always be terrible traffic during the week. Moreover, because the park is in the middle of nowhere, it will take quite a bit of time to get there and you will eat up a good amount of gas driving from most nearby towns that you might be staying at.

Game tickets are relatively expensive but it all depends on how good the team is and how good the team they are playing is. I got 200 level tickets for $20. But I also got tickets against the Yankees for too much than I should have for a weeknight game.

Food and drink though? GLP has some of the best prices in baseball. I would love to give a better ranking here just for that, but the access is really that annoying!

10) Misc- 0.5

Stats & Info- .5

All relevant information is very accessible. It’s on the LED boards around the park and the main video board. My one problem- they didn’t keep track of the pitcher’s stat line. Just their balls, strikes, and pitch count. Not hits allowed, runs allowed, etc.

Concourse- 0

Closed. Very disappointing. The concourse were spacious though which is always nice.

Out of town Scoreboard- 0

It was LED which I didn’t like and they only had 4 scores up at time and rotated them. I hate that.

Personal Score- 3/5

I like the park and I know the ratings from this will make it seem terrible- it is not. From food and drink to aesthetics to overall game experience, this park is above average. But there are so many wonderful parks out there that it just doesn’t quite stack up to most of the pack.